They Trample the Head of the Poor

My friend discusses moving into the inner city of Dublin. He says, “Over a year ago I decided to move into Dublin’s inner city, to the Liberties; an area of town which has historically suffered the worst from the conditions of poverty and social exclusion. What I had thought to do was to test my own prejudices and those of ‘better-off’ Dublin concerning the lifestyle choices and attitudes of the people who live in those run-down houses between Cork Street and Thomas Street. Was it really the case that the houses were so decrepit because their inhabitants lacked any real care for their environment or any sense of social responsibility?”

(a one paragraph excerpt below)

On viewing the house all of the windows were open; airing the house, the beds were covered in new linens and a leather sofa was taking up most of the living room. Now that I had the keys, and could battle my way through the front door – which had evidently been ‘kicked in’ and repaired a number of times before my arrival – it was a completely different story. Nothing could have prepared me for the state of the house once the smoke and mirrors had been removed. With the windows closed over the lack of ventilation created a stench of mould and urine which was suffocating, the kitchen produced a wholly indescribable stench and the general condition of the air caught like a powder in the back of ones’ throat. Upstairs was where the real shock was waiting. The mattresses in both of the bedrooms were bare and both were sodden with human filth; the true extent of which would only transpire later in conversation with neighbours. It took one whole month before the house was fit for human habitation, and it was only then that I would allow Ambrose (the dog who lives with me) to move his things in. Everything in the house had to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. With the help of my longsuffering and dearly beloved friend the mattresses and the bed frames were removed from the house and destroyed. The insect infested wallpaper was removed and a fresh coat of paint was put on every wall. …

From Around the Web.

From an earlier Wall Street Journal, 2010….”. Jetsetter and social activist Bianca Jagger has lost her legal bid to keep her knock-down-price rental at 530 Park Avenue.

A New York state judge last week ordered Mick’s ex to pay $708,600 in back rent and other fines to her landlords. Ms. Jagger spent nearly 20 years in the two bedroom apartment—rent-stabilized at $4,600 a month. But then she complained about poor upkeep, The landlords in turn noted that Ms. Jagger, in the U.S. on a tourist visa, shouldn’t pay the lower rent since New York isn’t her “primary residence,” one of the criteria under rent control laws.